Astros, Rockets have little leverage in TV dispute

Only a few games remain in what has been an entertaining Rockets’ season. (James Nielsen/Chronicle)

It was heartening to hear Mayor Annise Parker speak up this week about the apparently stalled negotiations between the Astros, Rockets and Comcast on one side and the major cable/satellite carriers such as DirecTV, Dish, AT&T U-Verse and Time Warner on the other.

At least we know she is paying attention, although her comment that the situation is “intolerable” can be categorized as political hyperbole.

A few things in Houston should be considered intolerable.

1. Homelessness.

2. The state of public education

3. Rush-hour traffic

4. Humidity

5. Indecision over the fate of the Astrodome

The inability of the teams, including the Dynamo, and their regional sports network to reach more than 40 percent of the Houston television market is aggravating or annoying to many. It is not intolerable.

Both sides, however, should welcome the mayor’s offer to host — not necessarily mediate — a meeting to attempt to resolve an impasse that has been ongoing since October.

Viewers have lost virtually the entire Rockets season. (Too bad. You’ve missed an unexpectedly entertaining one. You should see this guy with the beard.) No one can guess how many Astros games you will miss. The season opener on Sunday night against the Texas Rangers can be seen on ESPN. The next two can be seen on the Fox regional network that carries the Rangers.

Yes, it’s true. Rangers games are available to most in Houston. Astros games aren’t.

Astros owner Jim Crane told Sports 610 Radio on Thursday that a deal could be done soon, but he didn’t sound optimistic.

The mayor, in her comments, was neutral. But if you read between the lines, it seemed as if she was placing more responsibility on the teams for getting a deal done because public money went into the stadiums.

The decision to spend the money, of course, was made by voters. If there is any lesson to be learned from this, it is that voters should attach more strings before we let team owners into our pockets.

But how many strings can you attach?

Who had any idea when the votes were cast years ago about the issues that might come with a regional sports network?

Should voters in the future determine team’s payrolls?

How about the hiring of coaches and managers?

Could we vote on the Opening Day starting pitcher for the Astros?

There is only so far we can go in the management of teams no matter how much money we invest in them through tax dollars and tax breaks.

These are businesses that eventually will reach a compromise. That’s what businesses do.

The best solution for the carriers and consumers would be if they could offer Comcast SportsNet Houston on a separate tier that would enable viewers to pay for the games or not. Viewers wouldn’t have to pay for them as part of a basic package. The carriers reportedly have put that on the table.

That, however, would not be the best solution for the teams or their fans because their competitors have television deals guaranteeing them certain amounts of money whether anyone is watching or not. In other words, if you’re not watching the Lakers in Los Angeles, you’re still paying.

Crane said about 50% of the Rangers and Los Angeles Angels payrolls are provided by television deals and that the Astros can’t compete unless they have a similar deal.

He said they would consider “a haircut,” but probably not a buzz cut that prevents the Astros from achieving their goal of becoming “a top six market.”

The Astros, Rockets and the network know the only leverage they have is for subscribers of the carriers that are holding out to revolt, to either change providers if possible or demand reductions in their monthly fees.

So far, Matt Hutchings, president and general manager of Comcast SportsNet Houston, reports they have gathered about 90,000 names on petitions. Impressive but short of a revolt.

Disputes such as this aren’t unusual in professional sports markets. The teams often prevail in the long run in cities such as New York, Los Angeles and even Dallas.

Hutchings said the carriers are discriminating against sports fans in Houston by drawing the line here.

Another answer could be that the teams are competitive enough in the markets listed above that it IS intolerable for their fans not to have access to the games on television.

In Dallas-Fort Worth, for example, the Mavericks won the NBA championship two seasons ago and the Rangers played in the World Series in 2010 and ’11.

That is not the case today in Houston. The Rockets are an appealing team, but they have missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. The Astros have lost more than 100 games in back-to-back seasons and appear on the verge of making that back-to-back-to back.

Crane, who is an outstanding businessman, summed it up on Sports 610 Radio on Thursday.

“If we’d won the World Series last year, this would be over with,” he said.